Exploring hues that characterized human artistry in ancient civilizations across the world, Laufen and Roberto Sironi Studio developed a 12-shade palette for contemporary bathroom ceramics. It stands as a testament to the idea that colours can transcend time and place – and sustain their expressive significance.
‘When we talk about colour, we talk about emotions and sensibilities,’ thinks Roberto Sironi. Those sensibilities, the Milan-based designer and researcher explains, include cultural, religious and geographical factors, among others. He’s known for incorporating anthropological, archaeological and geographical references in his process-oriented practice, and shared this take amidst the Milan Design Week presentation Colour Archaeology. Conceived by Laufen, the project was entrusted to Sironi, who spent three years tackling the research from a science-based approach. It’s taken him from Africa to Japan and beyond, both physically and through literature. Perhaps best described as a journey, Colour Archaeology traces the development of coloured ceramics from across the world, dating back to the period between 4000 B.C to 1500 A.D, culminating in a palette of industrially applicable shades for Swiss bathroom ceramics manufacturer Laufen. Each is representative of an individual ceramic culture.
Cover image and above: Curated by Roberto Sironi with Beda Achermann and Matteo Fiorini of Studio Lys, the Colour Archaeology exhibition took place at Laufen Space Milano on the occasion of Milan Design Week 2024. Archive photos of archaeological ceramics meet images created at Laufen's Austrian production site in an expressive installation.
To showcase the industrial application of the newly developed colour palette, the show featured some of Laufen's iconic Saphirkeramik pieces, fired in the world's first electric tunnel kiln powered by renewable energy, in the new shades.
Ceramics was an interesting medium for Sironi to investigate, being the oldest form of human artistic expression, evident in the earliest advanced civilizations. ‘It's interesting because the history of coloured ceramics is affected by local materials, but also by trade routes and other influences,’ Sironi commented on his research. ‘In each region there are different minerals affecting the tones of ceramics. And then there are some interesting clusters of ceramic production that invented some colours. The ancient Egyptians succeeded in producing a synthetic colour for the first time – a blue pigment produced in a chemical process. My work was to identify the most important historical productions and pin down a colour peculiar to each of those productions.’
To achieve this, Sironi embarked on an extensive study of ceramic history, which involved examining hundreds of archaeological artefacts from prestigious museums worldwide, including the Larco Museum in Lima, the Rietberg Museum in Zurich, the Acropolis Museum in Athens, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. It was in these museums that he encountered the stories and techniques behind the blues of Ancient Egypt, the earthy tones of Mesopotamian lands, the serene celadons of Imperial China, the wabi-sabi aesthetics of ancient Japan, and the brick reds of Roman sealed earth. This experience led him to team up with ceramist Luca Mandaglio to conceive a series of ten sculptures that reimagine ancient cultural and historical artefacts, produced using original techniques and alchemical processes.
A Saphirkeramik washbasin in the strong and saturated Jade Green, one of the greens characteristic of the Chinese Song period, features in a visual created by Beda Achermann and his studio.
Roberto Sironi also teamed up with ceramist Luca Mandaglio to conceive a series of ten sculptures that reimagine ancient cultural and historical artefacts and are produced using original techniques and alchemical processes. The sculptures welcomed visitors of Colour Archaeology in the courtyard.
Sironi praises Laufen’s ability to capture the essence of the original colours through industrial processes, ensuring they evoke that sense of ancient craftsmanship and rich materiality. ‘All of the colours have a slightly dusty and ecological feel, while finishes add a tactile element. That’s exactly the effect I was looking for,’ he said. Each colour was selected not only for its historical relevance but also for its potential to retain expressive power and value in contemporary contexts. ‘I think this collection of colours will not be affected by time,’ he explained. Yet their historical and contextual significance can contribute to the sensation a product evokes in a consumer. ‘I believe there are different levels of experience that come with the Laufen products in this colour palette. You can buy a washbasin in one of the colours for aesthetic reasons, or maybe there is that added layer of sensing a connection with the shade’s history. Colour Archaeology bridges the past with the present through the universal language of colour.’ Or in the words of Sironi: ‘The present emerges as a product of metabolizing the past, framed within a vision that reinterprets remnants of the ancient world from a postmodern perspective.’
